Frozen
by Moggo
Summary: Nessie finds out about imprinting, flips out and runs away to Europe. It soon turns out to not have been the best idea she ever had - and that turns out to be the understatement of the century.


**AN: So, a few things before you start reading, whoever you are. First of all, this is a translation/adaptation of the nth edit of a work I have yet to finish writing in its original language. Therefore, if you find anything that sounds odd or out of place, that will likely be the cause. (That, and English not being my native language and this being my first attempt to write something lengthy in it.) Please let me know if you do, so that I can do my best to fix it. ****Second, I began this fanfic roughly 3 years ago, when I was much more Twilight obsessed than I am now, and am trying to finish it more for nostalgia's sake than out of love for its canon. So, uhm, I suppose it is a fairly truefen!friendly story if you don't mind the cracktastic end pairing, but you will probably find some small digs at canon here and there. Sorry about that. I promise they are very small. Honest. ****Third (and last), I'm going per book canon, meaning both Alec and Jane are roughly 12/13 in this. So, yes, there will be no sexytimes whatsoever at any point. Sorry about that too.**

**...aaaand here we go. **

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: RUNAWAY**

Nessie Cullen was bored.

"And Paul is still being stubborn about wanting the car ready in time for the wedding. It's no use to tell him, have Rachel tell him, that he's wasting money we could use for more important things like, for instance and from the top of my mind_, pay for that ridiculously expensive dress of hers!"_ …and so on and so forth, and it didn't look as if the ranting would stop anytime soon. She yawned loudly from above the banister she was perched on and went ignored by everyone except Jacob, who silently pleaded with her to be patient. With a sigh, she returned her attention to Billy. It wasn't a good time to remember them all that if money was the problem, it would cost her family almost nothing to lend a hand. She had been listening for long enough to understand that money _wasn't _the problem. It was just that Billy was all nervous and skittish and wound up, as fathers usually were before weddings, and needed something to dump his frustration on. Paul was the obvious choice for obvious reasons.

Besides her, Billy and Jacob, the small living room contained Seth and Leah Clearwater, who were there because for reasons not even she herself understood, Leah had been chosen as bridesmaid, and Rebecca, who had arrived from Hawaii the day before. Since the house's only spare room was currently filled to the brim with boxes and garlands and - according to Billy - preposterously expensive china and tableware, she and her husband were camping in the yard.

Nessie was there because she and Jacob had been planning to go and get some ice-cream, until he had stopped to listen to his father and been unwillingly drawn into the discussion.

"Dad, Paul and Rachel are both adults, and it's his money." They were arguing it out for half an hour already, without any signs of being about to put an end on it. Before the car, the subject had been the suit that someone should have picked up at the Laundromat the day before. Before that, it had been about the restaurant reservations…

"And as an adult, Paul should know we are tight with money, and that wasting his entire paycheck on a car is just darned irresponsible." Nessie caught Jacob's eyes when he turned his head and mouthed a silent _do we still have to wait long?, _to which he answered with an apologetic hand wave and an equally mute plea to remain calm.

"That boy, that boy…" Calm. Right. She could do calm. "Imprinting aside, he just ain't right in the head. At least Becky gave me a proper son-in-law."

Rebecca snorted noisily.

"Oh, be serious, dad. You were just as screamy about Solomon, if not more. Can't wait to see how it will be when it's Jake's turn. Anyone wanna bet how long it takes until the ceiling goes up in smoke?"

"I'll give it five minutes, counting from the announcement," said Leah, but she was the only one who managed to get out a flippant response. Everyone else had gone eerily quiet. Jacob was gritting his teeth and ignoring her, Billy looked lost between disturbed and just plain uncomfortable.

"Jake's situation is…different. Again, imprint and mysticism aside, to me this looks like…"

"Uhm. What's and imprint?"

* * *

She still didn't understood what the problem had been.

As soon as she asked the question, an icy silence fell in the room, and both humans and wolves had suddenly seemed very interested in their own feet. Rebecca had grimaced guiltily, Billy's face gone so hard he could be mistaken for a vampire, Leah and Seth had exchanged alarmed stares and Jacob had looked…ill. Obviously they weren't all that interested in discussing or explaining the theme.

Leah had valiantly tried to do so anyway.

"Imprinting, my little lake monster…" Nessie held no grudge whatsoever against Leah. Among the wolves, she was the only one who occasionally still bothered to give her a withering look, but she was convinced that by now it had become more a matter of habit than of principle. And Leah had never been outright mean, or made any comments about her that weren't the ones she ought to expect, her being a hybrid and all. However, Nessie would dearly appreciate it if she decided to drop that stupid nickname. "…is a crazy and uncontrollable process through which any wolf with a Y chromosome gets turned into a complete tool."

"_Leah!"_

"What? It's true!"

"What Leah means," Jacob interrupted, still looking as if he had just eaten something rotten, "is that imprinting is something that happens to us, wolves, when we first see our…I think we can call it soul mate? It's an impulse that leads us to protect and cherish whoever we are imprinted on, whatever may happen and to the best of our ability."

Judging by Leah's expression, that wasn't exactly what she had meant.

"It sounds interesting," she said honestly. The four couples she lived with, her parents included, were all each other's soulmates, and as far as she knew none of them had been warned of the fact before actually being in love with his or her mate. Everyone had gone just fine for them, but she supposed that it would be practical for the unluckier couples if there was some sort of signal that showed they were made for each other. Rosalie had somehow persuaded her to watch enough soap operas to have her learn that when there was doubt about someone else's feelings, chaos would follow. Chaos, and possibly a few twins separated at birth and babies of uncertain parenting. If the wolves had some sort of inbuilt mechanism that avoided such hassles, well, they were lucky.

"Oh, but he left out the best part. Imprinting can occur at any age."

"Leah!" Jacob was looking really, really chocked up, which worried her. "You shouldn't be telling her things like that before she's ready!"

"But…but I don't understand why I shouldn't get to hear them," she said, feeling somewhat offended. She was fourteen. It bothered her that people insisted in treating her as if she were five, and the fact that five was her real, chronological age had nothing to do with it. And it wasn't as if Leah was telling her anything she lacked the knowledge to grasp. Most children in the movies she saw seemed to instinctively know that someday they would marry the little girl on the other side of the sandbox, or the annoying kid who kept throwing bits of gum in geography class. She figured it had to be something like that. And if Leah was referring to _older _people falling in love, well, Grandpa Charlie was old, and he and Sue seemed to be perfectly suited for each other. "Unless it's some sort of wolf thing that I'm not allowed to know about, but since Jake hasn't alpha-commanded her to shut up yet…"

"Well Jake is doing that right now. Leah, _shut up!_ Nessie, come on, we are leaving."

"But I don't…" But Jacob pulled her by the arm, leaving her no choice but to follow and wave an awkward goodbye with her free hand. To her disappointment, they didn't go for ice-cream after they left. Instead, he took her home and replied with a terse _nothing, don't_ know, when she asked him if she had done anything wrong and whether she'd see him tomorrow. And he'd left.

Nessie had gone to bed and dreamed restless dreams.

* * *

"Hi Claire!" Claire Young was sitting on a bridge over the Calawah, her legs dangling above the water. The bottom of the bridge was so close to its surface that her tiptoes nearly reached it. Claire scooted to the side to give her space to sit. Nessie took her shoes off, placed them on the wood and sank her feet in the river before opening the paper bag she had brought with her. "Do you want a sandwich? My aunt wouldn't let me leave home without one, but I'm not really hungry."

Claire studied the bag with a small frown.

"What's in it?"

"Egg. And lettuce, I think." She ripped the plastic wrapping and made a show of lifting a slice of bread and checking, before concluding: "Yes, definitely lettuce."

"Gimme!" Claire got rid of the rest of the wrapping and bit down, chewing vigorously while she talked. "I can't stay long, though. Quil is taking me flying kites."

"How radical!" Claire gave Nessie a look, like she did every single time she attempted to use slang. It wasn't something that came naturally to her. When with her family, she spoke like they did; properly, formally and, if she were to be honest with herself, perhaps a bit stiffly. When with Claire or the wolf pack, Nessie tried to adapt her speech so that she sounded as old as she was, but hadn't so far been very successful. She smiled, as if unaware she was receiving that look because of how forced she sounded. "Not the not being able to stay part, the kite part. That sounds…_pleasant."_

"Huh, huh. And you, watcha' been doing lately?" She hesitated. Admitting that she'd somehow made Jacob angry wasn't in her best interest. Claire and her were rivals in a competition that, she knew, wouldn't seem anything but odd to someone else. Claire had gone to the First Beach with Quil? She had gone there with Jacob. Quil had given Claire a bracelet with a flower? Well, Jacob had given _her_ an even better one. And so on and so forth. Saying what she had done this time would be lying down and admitting defeat.

"Not much. Mom and dad will be in Boston until next Thursday, and Aunt Alice is trying to prop as many clothes as she can in my closet while they are away. Aunt Rosalie is, er_, trying to feed me_." As if her parents made her starve the rest of the time, in fact. Rosalie was, hands down, her favorite aunt. However, Nessie was the first to admit she was also very likely to go overboard with things unless someone did something to put an end on it. She had known she was in trouble when at breakfast, Rosalie had presented her with a plate of caviar and lemon slices. "Everyone else is fine."

"I wish I had as many clothes as you," Claire sighed. Nessie did the same. If she could, she would gift Claire half her wardrobe in a heartbeat, but it was unlikely that any of it would fit. She had begged Alice to let the other girl accompany them on one of their monthly shopping trips, but Mr. and Mrs. Young had put their feet down about allowing their daughter to travel with vampires. Having Claire spend time with _her_ was already enough of a hassle as far as they were concerned.

"One of the dresses is sort of stretchy. Maybe that one will fit?"

"Color?"

"Violet. With blue dots."

"Violet is kinda like purple, right?"

"Sort of, yes." Claire smiled softly.

"I like purple."

"I know. So, do you want it?"

"Sure. Only…we'll have to try it on at my place." Nessie nodded. She'd assumed that would be the case, since Claire was forbidden to go to hers. Last time she'd taken her there, Mrs. Young had called Quil, who had called Sam, who had reunited the pack and marched to her doorstep. They had been a bit embarrassed when after demanding to be let in and ushering Carlisle to the side, they'd found her and Claire in the living room, munching on peanuts and watching cartoons. Claire had thrown a fit so that she could stay until they were done, but afterwards, it had been decided that it would be far less stressful for everyone involved if from then on, they remained in the reservation when together.

Nessie had once asked Mrs. Young why it was such a problem to have Claire spend time with her family. Mrs. Young had given her a Look and asked how many of her relatives had _never_ taken a human life. She had answered as honestly as she could, and made a weak attempt to explain the concept of a vegetarian vampire while she was at it. However, once she started talking about Jasper, Mrs. Young face had gone all stiff, and she'd decided it would be preferable to just stop right there.

So they met in La Push, and sometimes at Claire's place if the Youngs were feeling charitable, and that was just how things were.

"I'm free on Sunday," said Claire. "We could do it them."

"Agreed." Silence fell.

"You know," Claire said, a few seconds later, "all this will look very weird in a few years."

"What will look weird?"

"You know. You, spending time with me. I mean, in a year or so you'll look all grown up and you will want to do grown up things and…and have grown up friends. And it will look weird if I say you are my best friend when you seem to be like, seventeen and I'm not even ten. If you get what I'm saying."

"Yes." Because that was a fact, and it would do them no good to deny it.

"Right. And I'm not saying…I mean, I know it's not your fault and all, but…"

"I know. And you _are _very right. But I'll be seventeen forever, someday. So we only have to wait a few years until it isn't weird to go…" she tried to recall what typical human teenagers did when they were older, "…to the disco, and parties, and casinos and all those places. And until then, well, the only ones who know we are friends are the wolves, and I don't think _they _care about how old we look."

"Still. It'll be seven years, or so. That's a long time, Nessie."

"It is." It was more than her entire life. "So, let's talk about other things. Have you started drawing again?" She had earlier noticed the notebook lying next to Claire, who shook her head.

It was a pity, really. Claire had loved to draw until a few months ago, when she had challenged her to make a drawing of her own. When Nessie showed it to her, she'd gone very quiet for a while, before saying that it was no use to go on practicing; nothing she did would ever be as good as her first try. It had hurt to hear that, because it didn't feel _fair._ Nessie cared nothing about any art apart from music. She could make a perfect sketch of a still life because depth and perspective were things her eyes just took in, and she could reproduce those things on paper because precision was a trait her fingers just _had_. She was more a copy machine than an artist; everything she painted would be aesthetically perfect, but devoid of feeling and as lifeless as a poisoned lake.

She had tried to explain to Claire, but Claire had refused to listen.

"Look," Claire said, grabbing the notebook and opening it to scribble something. When she finished, she ripped the page she'd been writing on and folded it into a tiny paper boat, which she placed in the water. It drifted away with the current, and she clapped in delight. "Look, there it goes! Isn't it pretty?"

Nessie nodded.

"What did you write on it?" Claire giggled and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Claire + Quil!" she said, her voice muffled by her fingers. Nessie had no answer for that, beyond blinking and giving the other girl a baffled look. "And on the other side, I wrote Mrs. Claire Ateara."

"Uhm. Why?"

"Because he's my wolf, dummy! Don't you know about imprinting?"

"Uh?" She knew about imprinting now, more or less, but nothing of what she knew clarified what she had just heard. Claire rolled her eyes and motioned her to come closer, so she did.

"I heard Quil and Seth and Embry talk, last time I was at Quil's. I said I was going to the bathroom, but then I didn't need to go anymore, so I stayed in the corridor and listened. They were talking about how Jared was going to ask Kim to marry him, and Seth started to act as if he was jealous, only not 'cause of Kim, but because he said Quil had me and Jared had Kim and Jacob had you, and he was the only one still without an imprint and he thought he was going to be alone forever and ever and ever…so, you see, if Jared is going to marry Kim because an imprint means he has her, then I'm marrying Quil.

"Claire, _Quil is Jake's age!"_

"I know." Claire said, quietly. "So you are marrying Jacob."

"I'm going to…Jacob and I are _what?!"_

"Marrying. Like I just told you. Here…" Claire's hand went back to the notebook and ripped a page, which she offered her along with the pen. "There, now you can make a boat for yourself and Jake."

"I…" Like a castle of cards tumbling down, her reality fell apart. Dimly and far too late, she understood what Leah had meant when she spoke about how imprinting could occur…could occur…

"Nessie, are you alright?" Claire was eying her with obvious worry, which distracted her a little from the cold that was beginning to nestle in her chest. "You look…pale. I mean, you are pale, it's not like that's any news, but you kinda look like a ghost right now. Or a 100% vampire. Do you wanna…"

"I," she muttered, "…need to go. Goodbye. Sorry." Hastily, she got up and half-walked, half ran away.

When Claire and the bridge went out of view, her erratic pacing turned into a sprint.

* * *

"Aunt Rose!" Rosalie wasn't in the kitchen for a change. She and Emmett were sprawled on the couch in front of the television, watching a movie that judging by the amount of stuff currently exploding on the screen, had to have been picked by Emmett. Rosalie turned her head towards her when called. She swallowed and started to speak, measuring each word so that not one would - technically - be a lie. "I'm going out. Told Claire she could have one of my dresses, won't return in the next five hours."

"Do you need a ride to Neah Bay?" Emmett asked, raising his voice above the rattling machineguns.

"No!" she yelled, hoping she hadn't done it too fast. "I'll go on foot. See you later."

"Alright. Only…that backpack seems to be a little bit full." Nessie counted to three before turning and giving her aunt her best smile. It came out more nervous than dazzling, but she would work with what she had. Luckily, Rosalie appeared to be less suspicious than amused. She was winking while she wagged her index finger towards her. "Are you sure you are only taking _one _dress?

"Oh, well, no, not one," she added, very quickly. "Just, you know Aunt Alice. She's having another of her clothes-buying frenzies, and I'm running out of space in my wardrobe, and I though…"

"Say no more." Nessie breathed out in relief when Rosalie turned her gaze back to the screen. Quietly she walked towards the door. Since she'd returned from the river, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, as if reality itself were dragging and she the only thing moving in real-time. Her thoughts, however, were running through her head in a blindingly fast pace and fighting for attention she had no time to give to every single one of them but one: _Imprinting._ The word echoed through her mind over and over. It sounded so harmless, right until you were told what it meant.

"Renesmee?" Her hand froze inches away from the doorknob. So close, yet so far away. Nessie tried really hard to not give herself away by crying. "Since you are going out, could you buy some milk?"

"Sure." Her mind being as hazy with fear, anxiousness and paranoia as it was, she though that the tiny frown on her aunts forehead meant her dishonesty had shined through in her voice.

"Is everything alright, though? You seem nervous."

"No. Yes_. No_." That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all. She needed to think, tell, say something that would void any suspicions her aunt might be developing, but all that came out of her dumb, babbling mouth was: "It's just that I've been thinking lately. About_…love_. And predestination. And all that."

"Oh." Rosalie grabbed the remote and changed channel, ignoring Emmett's protests or attempts to get it back. Nessie now had her full attention, and had never felt so miserable because of it. "And these…_things _you have been thinking about, did you think about them in relation to someone in…"

"No! Nobody." She was a terrible liar and she knew it, but Rosalie only smiled and nodded.

"Alright, then. If you want to talk more about it, or ask anything…"

"_Would you make me marry someone if I didn't want to?"_

"_What?!" _They turned toward her as one, both equally stunned.

"I mean, if, if I find someone and even if that someone is not my soulmate I just so happen to love that person and wish to marry that person and…" Nessie trailed off, knowing that she hadn't made any sense, if the strange looks she was getting were anything to go by. Sighing, she started over. "What I want to know is, simply put, do I have to marry my soulmate no matter what?"

"Well, it is encouraged, yes." Rosalie said, sounding and looking a bit calmer now that she had more or less explained herself properly. "But if for some reason or another you dislike the idea of marriage, I don't see why being together wouldn't suffice. You are far too young for any of that to apply, though."

"So I have to be together with my soulmate no matter what?" she pressed on, feeling more and more deflated by the minute. She had half believed that Claire had been kidding or wrong, but now…

"Love, you will _want_ to be together with your soulmate no matter what. That's what soulmate means."

"So that's a yes, then?"

"Well, I suppose…but you should probably talk this out with your mother, once she…"

"Alright. Thank you, that was very…helpful." She opened the door and ran outside before they could make a move to stop her, crossed the yard and disappeared in the surrounding forest. Her heart was beating so fast she feared it would leap out of her chest. She knew what her mother would say. There was a bookcase in the corner of the library that hosted Bella Swan's all-time favorite reads, and she had perused it on a particularly boring afternoon. If nothing else, leafing through roughly twenty-five classical Victorian romances had given her some insight into the inner workings of her mother's mind.

Bella believed in love so right and true that it could just as well be written in the stars, and she believed in it because she was living one. It would be useless to try and convince her that whoever had been tasked with writing the book of _her_ destiny had made a gigantic mistake when it came to assigning her soul a companion. She needed time to think about, and it wouldn't do to have her mom around. Bella would tell her to give it time, that she would "get it" when the stars righted themselves.

She wasn't sure she _wanted_ to get it. Her family…they had to know about Jacob. Even if she hadn't seen Rosalie's reaction when she mentioned predestination, it would be impossible for them to remain oblivious to the facts with a mind reader in their midst. And if they knew and had never told her or made any attempt whatsoever to stop Jacob from seeing her, that could only mean they were waiting. That they were counting the days until it would be acceptable for her to look at him and consider him as mate, until she wanted him in ways she wasn't sure she knew how to want.

Maybe her feelings would be different in a few years, when her mind was done developing. But there and now, she wished only for Jacob to be what he always had been; her very best friend. A hand on her shoulder when she needed one. Laughter, jokes and advice. Ice-cream, sun and forest.

Nessie stopped when she reached the edge of the cliff that surveyed the First Beach. The rose-tinted lenses she'd worn her entire life had finally been ripped off her eyes, and now she could look at her memories and see them in a new light. Jacob. She remembered him first as her favorite uncle, then as her buddy, her confidant. It had never occurred to her to wonder about how he thought about her. She's just assumed his feelings mirrored hers. But what if she wasn't Nessie, a friend, a little sister, a pal, but Nessie, the child he was obliged to watch over until she grew into a woman he was allowed to love? She didn't want him as boyfriend. She didn't think she wanted anyone like that.

Her parents would flip when they found out she was gone. She'd left them a note under her pillow that more or less explained why she had to go for a while, and hopefully that would ease their worries, but she didn't think it stood a chance of stopping them from going after her. Lying to Rosalie and Emmett would give her a few hours to get away before they started to search, but she had to make sure she was far away when they began. Thoughtfully, she looked down at the crashing waves.

The only thing left for her to decide was her destination.

* * *

Nessie's mental picture of the world was far from perfect, and she got lost a few times on her way to Europe. She didn't much mind it - it had just been the first continent other than America to pop into her head, not a place she was dead set on visiting - and when she ended there nonetheless, it was merely by chance. Unfortunately, the island she arrived at turned to be Corsica, which meant she had to change track and swim north. Corsica was far too close to Italy, a country she wished to avoid at all costs for very obvious reasons.

Nessie's next stop was Marseille, where she changed clothes, bought some food and slept for a night before continuing her journey. She considered staying in France for a while and perhaps visit Paris - Claire had made her promise that both of them would do it at least once in their lifetimes, and it stood to reason that she'd get to do it first, even if at the time she'd never considered it would be in her current circumstances - but scrapped that plan on the grounds of her being on get-away-from-your-family-and-clear-your-head trip, and not doing tourism.

Besides, running helped. She had done a lot of thinking while crossing the Atlantic, and now that she'd got the chance to dry up a little bit, she was drawing conclusions from her thoughts. First and foremost was the fact that her family loved her. She'd never dream of doubting that. Even so, she suspected that if she told them how she felt about Jacob and all that was happening, they'd just smile and tell her to wait and see. As if her refusal to be in love with him were no more than a childish fancy that she'd eventually get over. And, well, they could be right. Now that she had actually calmed down a little, Nessie could see that he wasn't the worse option she had. Claire had told her once that Jacob looked a lot like a member of this boysband that every girl at her school was crazy over. And he was, well Jacob. _Her _Jacob. Always a laugh, always available, owner of a smile like a second sunrise.

But she still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of kissing him.

Sleeping outdoors and whenever she felt too tired to continue wasn't all that pleasant, and Nessie had never spent so much time on an animal-only diet since she'd started with human food, but eventually she grew used to both. At some point she had left France and entered Germany, and after that, her head became fuzzy where country borders where concerned. Last time she'd know exactly where she was, she'd been somewhere in Belgium, but since then she'd run enough for it to be safe to assume she had either reentered Germany through Holland, or was somewhere around Luxemburg. It wasn't all that important, really. Her family had no acquaintances so far up north, and that was the only thing that mattered as far as she was concerned. She planned to stop when she reached Norway and settle there until she felt stable and confident enough to call her parents and negotiate her return.

Until then, she had to keep running.

* * *

Snow was falling in small, proverbially unique flakes.

Nessie sighed and smelled the winter in the air. One of the flakes landed on her nose and melted in a second. She stood still for what felt like forever while the world around her got covered with white. It reminded her of another winter, not so long ago, when a vampire had seen something she shouldn't and told the wrong people about it. But that was behind her now, lost in a time when Jacob was still _her _Jacob, without any red strings attached to the word. A time, she now understood, when everything was so much simpler.

She had reached the shore a few days ago and turned back instead of crossing the sea. Since then she'd ran across a country that she'd first believed to be Denmark, but turned out to be Germany once again. Even taking in account her horrid sense of direction, it seemed to her that there was an awful lot of Germany in Europe. Eventually, the weather had started to worsen and she'd decided to find a temporary shelter. Stumbling on a seemingly abandoned barn had been a stroke of luck. After getting rid of the mice and owls that had also taken refuge in it by making them her dinner, she had fashioned herself a bed of sorts with empty sacks and straw, bathed in a nearby river and resolved that it was far from the worst place to stay at. When the second part of the snowstorm hit, she went inside and curled on her makeshift bed to sleep. Unfortunately, she didn't got to do so for long.

A loud bang on the door roused her from her slumber. Blearily, she rolled to the side and got up in time to hear another, even louder bang. It took her far longer than it should to realize that there was someone knocking on the barn door. She fidgeted, unsure about how to proceed. It could be the owner, but why on earth would he be banging on his own door in that weather and in the middle of the night? It was far more likely to be a hiker that'd gotten lost and was, like her, searching for shelter. In which case she probably ought to open the door before the poor soul froze to death.

She never got the chance to do so. The door went down with a crashing noise. Before her brain managed to catch up with what was happening, whoever had been banging threw himself at her and took her down too. Nessie landed on her back, winced and looked up just in time to see a flash of bright white teeth and equally bright blond hair. A strong hand closed around her neck. She struggled, screamed and tried to scratch her attacker. The uselessness of her efforts told her what she ought to have deduced as soon as she was grabbed.

The vampire bared his teeth into something that vaguely resembled a smile, forced her to lift her chin and bit down.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
